Youtube Playlist Transcript Scraper

Batch extract transcripts from entire YouTube playlists with enriched video metadata

Overview

This Apify actor automatically extracts transcripts from all videos in a YouTube playlist. Unlike single-video transcript scrapers, this tool processes entire playlists at once and enriches transcript data with comprehensive video metadata.

Perfect for:

• Content analysis and research
• Transcript archival
• SEO and content strategy
• Educational content processing
• Market research from video content

Features

• Batch Processing: Process entire playlists automatically
• Configurable Limits: Set maximum number of videos to process
• Rich Metadata: Each transcript includes video title, description, publication date, channel info, views, and duration
• Error Handling: Gracefully handles videos without transcripts
• Timestamped Transcripts: Full transcript data with precise timing information

Quick Start

Using in Apify Console

1. Go to Apify Console
2. Find "Playlist Transcript Scraper"
3. Enter your playlist URL and desired max results
4. Click Start and download results when complete

Example Input

{
  "playlistUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjXib16-6_9Hj-QsEWLBGhaE1elDjo-et",
  "maxResults": 10
}

Example Output

Each transcript entry contains:

{
  "data": [
    {
      "start": "0.080",
      "dur": "3.359",
      "text": "a lot of it is social media..."
    }
  ],
  "videoTitle": "Your new business partner: Social Media",
  "videoDescription": "You don't need millions of followers...",
  "videoPublicationDate": "2024-12-10T15:40:23.000Z",
  "videoUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=...",
  "channelName": "Patric Shannon",
  "viewCount": 168,
  "duration": "00:00:32"
}

See examples/sample-output.json for a complete example.

Input Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description	Default
playlistUrl	String	Yes	Full YouTube playlist URL	-
maxResults	Integer	No	Maximum number of videos to process (1-999)	999

Output Schema

Each transcript object includes:

Transcript Data

• data - Array of transcript segments with timestamps
  • start - Start time in seconds
  • dur - Duration of segment
  • text - Transcript text

Video Metadata

• videoTitle - Video title
• videoDescription - Full video description
• videoPublicationDate - ISO 8601 format publication date
• videoUrl - Direct link to video
• channelName - YouTube channel name
• viewCount - Total view count
• duration - Video length (HH:MM:SS)

Local Development

Prerequisites

• Node.js 16+
• Apify account

Setup

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/willscott-v2/youtube-playlist-transcript-scraper.git
cd youtube-playlist-transcript-scraper

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Login to Apify
apify login

# Run locally
apify run

Project Structure

.
├── .actor/
│   ├── INPUT_SCHEMA.json    # Input field definitions
│   └── actor.json           # Actor metadata
├── src/
│   └── main.js              # Main orchestration logic
├── examples/
│   └── sample-output.json   # Example output
├── README.md
├── LICENSE
├── CHANGELOG.md
└── package.json

How It Works

This actor chains two existing Apify actors:

1. streamers/youtube-scraper - Extracts video URLs and metadata from the playlist
2. pintostudio/youtube-transcript-scraper - Retrieves transcript for each video
3. Custom orchestrator - Merges transcript data with enriched video metadata

Technical Flow

Input: Playlist URL
    ↓
Extract all videos from playlist (streamers/youtube-scraper)
    ↓
Limit to maxResults
    ↓
For each video:
  - Get transcript (pintostudio/youtube-transcript-scraper)
  - Merge with video metadata
  - Handle errors gracefully
    ↓
Output: Array of enriched transcript objects

Limitations

• Only processes videos with available transcripts (auto-generated or manual)
• Respects YouTube's terms of service
• Processing time increases with playlist size
• Some videos may fail if transcripts are disabled

Troubleshooting

"Actor with this name was not found"

Verify the actor IDs are correct. Check the Apify Store.

Empty dataset returned

Ensure the playlist URL is valid and videos have transcripts available.

"playlistUrl is undefined"

Make sure INPUT_SCHEMA.json is in the .actor/ folder.

Roadmap

See CHANGELOG.md for version history.

Planned Enhancements (v2.0.0)

• Parallel processing for faster execution
• Language selection for multi-language transcripts
• Export to CSV/TXT formats
• Retry logic with exponential backoff
• Progress indicators and error tracking

Contributing

Contributions welcome! Please see CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Credits

Built with:

• streamers/youtube-scraper
• pintostudio/youtube-transcript-scraper

Support

• Issues: GitHub Issues
• Apify Discord: Join the community
• Documentation: Apify Docs

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